Don't look like a Muggle at the big Harry Potter movie premiere
this week, snacking on Milk Duds and Raisinets. Line your cloak with a
proper wizard's feast of sugar munchies. Start with every student's
favorite, Cockroach Clusters.
Our house elf, Floozy, has been working away all weekend to formulate
the perfect Cockroach Cluster recipe, using only the finest Pecanese
cockroaches. With Floozy's polished recipe, the process is easy --
almost like making popcorn balls.
For a final touch, let a batch of greedy insects loose on your tray of hand-rolled popcorn balls and they'll crawl right into place and get stuck -- like magic. The hardest part is de-winging the little buggers while they're still wiggling, but you'll get the hang of it.
When Floozy threatened to rest her sticky fingers, we made her stay up an extra two hours to design candy tags for your homemade treats. That'll teach her. Click here to download a print-ready pdf of uniquely-appetizing Cockroach Cluster tags.
Spread the news around Hogsmeade and the floo network, I'll be posting magical recipes all this week.
Update: About Floozy's sticky, sticky state. No worries. We had her wash up for the next recipe & gave her a clean, new apron to wear.
Oh shoot! Oops -- no wonder I haven't seen her all morning.
Cockroach Clusters
Glazed Pecans
1 lb pecan halves
1/2 C light corn syrup
1 T butter
kosher or sea salt to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 200º. Coat baking sheet
with butter-flavored cooking spray. Spread pecan halves in single layer on
baking sheet. Toast in 200º oven for approx. 5 min. Remove pecans from oven and pour in mixing bowl. Set aside. Increase oven
temperature to 300º. Re-coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
Melt butter in microwave. Add corn syrup & butter to pecan halves. Stir until pecans are evenly coated. With slotted spoon, remove pecan halves from bowl and place in single layer on baking sheet. Bake for approx. 15 minutes or until pecan glaze is brown and bubbly. Remove pecans and lightly sprinkle with salt. Allow to cool. Pecans should be prepared in advance of popcorn balls.
Popcorn Balls
18-20 C of popped popcorn
2 T butter
2 C sugar
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
1/2 C light corn syrup
1 1/3 cups water
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
Directions:
Pop
popcorn in air popper -- or use plain microwave popcorn. Set aside. In
medium sauce pan, combine butter, sugar, salt, corn syrup, water and
vinegar. (The vinegar helps the sugar to reach a smooth consistency.)
Cook on high until sugar mixture reaches hard-ball stage (approximately
255-265º). Remove saucepan from heat, then stir in vanilla and almond
extract.
Quickly coat large mixing bowl and mixing spoon with butter-flavored cooking spray. Pour 18-20 cups of popped popcorn into the greased bowl.
Slowly pour sugar mixture onto popcorn, tossing as you go. Wait till mixture is cool enough to handle, but still very warm, then lightly form coated popcorn into 3" balls and place on wax paper. Before popcorn balls cool, decorate with glazed pecans. It helps to have a second person to help add pecans while the popcorn mixture is still warm.
Holy cricket, these are tasty!
• Butterbeer recipe here.
